How does this situation challenge you? Do you lose hope? Do you forget about the Gospel and focus your attention on your religious faction or your political leanings? Do you turn your back on those not yet born? Do you turn your back on the suffering refugee? Do you reject the Gospel because those who are religious leaders have disappointed you? Do you ignore the Gospel because it doesn’t fit contemporary ideas? Do you cling to ideas that once made sense but now run contrary to contemporary life? What do you do? If the fate of Christianity depends on your courage, will Christianity endure?
Each generation is presented with the same challenge. “How do I live the Gospel in the time and place where I find myself?” In the first century, the challenge to the form of responding in faith to the Gospel message and not being afraid of standing up as a disciple. In the Middle Ages the challenge was to stay true to Gospel values and teaching in the face of incredible political and economic power, even when Gospel values occasionally brought you into conflict with corrupt practices or politically motivated religious leaders. Today the challenge is remaining faithful to Gospel values in the face of secularism, confusion over what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the 21st century, and a hardness of heart among some Christians toward the poor and vulnerable.
The Kingdom of God is the work of God. It was established by God in the person of Jesus Christ. It came into the world with the Incarnation of Jesus and was clearly manifest to the world in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Even though the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God is the work of God, we have been given a role to play in this process. Our choices and actions make a difference. When we live according to the Gospel and act like Christ’s presence in the world, which we are because we have been baptized into Christ, then the Kingdom of God is more effectively realized. When we turn our backs on the Gospel and act according to our fears, desires, greed, anger or pride, then we put obstacles in God’s path and slow down the manifestation of the Kingdom of God. The early disciples lived their faith as best they could and within a few centuries much of the Mediterranean world and Western Europe was Christian. When Christianity became a political tool for the wealthy and powerful during the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of God was not manifest very clearly much of the time. Corruption, war and chaos was the result for much of the Middle Ages. Our choices, our actions matter very much.
The excuses that we tell ourselves simply don’t cut it any longer. We have no excuses that might let us evade our responsibility. If our community is going to be a just community, we must take responsibility for it. If refugees are going to have a chance at life, we must take responsibility for it. If life is to be respected, then we must take responsibility for its protection both in the womb and after birth. We must certainly be opposed to abortion but we must also support proper food and medical care for mothers, for children, for the poor. We must also be opposed to capital punishment. Respect for life is respect for life from conception to natural death. Picking and choosing one brief phase on that continuum of life is not respect for life. If there is substance abuse in our community, we cannot turn our back on it. If there is corruption among our leaders, we must not turn our back on it.
Whenever we are faced with a confusing situation in society, we must judge that situation by the Gospel and allow the Gospel to guide our decisions and actions. Anything less is a failure and a betrayal of the Gospel. Anything less is an obstacle to the realization of the Kingdom of God.
We cannot look to the past and tell ourselves that the early Christians were all saints and that we are not as great as they were or that we are not worthy. They are not different from us in any significant way. Christ died and rose again to redeem all of us, those living in the first century and those living in the 21st century, as well as every other century. They may have faced different challenges but like us they were called to translate their faith into choices and actions that were consistent with the Gospel. Their choices and actions shaped history for good or ill. We may be living in a different time and place; however, we are called by the Gospel to the came challenge. Ignoring the challenge is a choice. It is a choice to turn out back on Christ and the Kingdom of God. Our choices and actions will shape the future for good or ill. Again, if the fate of Christianity depends on your courage, will Christianity endure?